Trump denies 'confrontation' between Rubio and Musk: 'No clash; I was there'

During a press conference about the upcoming FIFA World Cup, President Donald Trump dismissed an NBC News reporter who asked him about an alleged spat between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk.

"No clash. I was there. You're just a troublemaker," Trump said. "And you're not supposed to be asking that question because we're talking about the World Cup. Elon gets along great with Marco and they're both doing a fantastic job. There is no clash."

The reporter's question followed several reports where Musk, Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy allegedly had a harsh confrontation during an explosive cabinet meeting.

According to a New York Times report, the tense meeting featured a duel between the cabinet secretaries and Musk, who began accusing Rubio of failing to cut Department of State staff.

Rubio, who according to the NYT had long been angry with Musk over how DOGE is pursuing its cutback plans, accused the tycoon of lying and proceeded to explain that, in fact, the Department of State had cut 1,500 staffers through retirements with compensation.

"What about the more than 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement in buyouts? Didn’t they count as layoffs? He asked, sarcastically, whether Mr. Musk wanted him to rehire all those people just so he could make a show of firing them again. Then he laid out his detailed plans for reorganizing the State Department," the NYT reads.

The newspaper further reported that Trump had to intervene to stop the discussion. He defended Marco Rubio for his "excellent job" and urged all parties to work together to achieve common goals.

That meeting had been abruptly scheduled Wednesday night, precisely to address concerns about how DOGE took a chainsaw approach to ending government waste, but in an unorganized and inconsistent manner, which has raised concerns in the cabinet and also in Congress.

Musk also recently had a meeting with Republican lawmakers to explain DOGE's approach and how it can work to minimize mistakes.

According to the NYT, during the meeting, Trump praised Musk, but set limits, stating that secretaries are in charge and that the mogul must advise.

Earlier, Musk had another spat with Transportation Secretary Duffy, who criticized him because his DOGE team was looking to lay off air operators when the agency is dealing with several high-profile plane crashes.

Without denying the discussion, Duffy publicly referred to the cabinet meeting, stating that he is ready to work with Musk, whom he praised on X.

"Thank you, @POTUS, for hosting another productive Cabinet meeting @WhiteHouse yesterday. It's difficult to express just what a change it is to have such a fully engaged and in-command businessman at the helm leading our nation," Duffy wrote.

"The President's approach of a scalpel versus a hatchet, and better coordination between Secretaries and DOGE, is the right approach to revolutionizing the way our government is run. @USDOT will continue to work closely with @elonmusk and his team to revolutionize the way government is run. This is an exciting time to be an American!" the transportation secretary concluded.